NORMAL, Ill. - The Illinois State men's basketball team jumps back into MVC play on Sunday afternoon, when the Redbirds host the UIC Flames in the 30th meeting between the two programs.
QUICK HITTERS
• Over the past 10 seasons in the NCAA, no school has made a jump from one season to the next better than ISU. From last season to this season the Redbirds have jumped 336 position rankings and .126 percentage and currently rank third in the country in three-point field goal percentage
• This season the Redbirds are averaging 80.1 points per game and have scored 80+ points in a game six times, including each of the last three games. The last time an ISU squad averaged at least 80 points per game in a season was 1978-79
• Illinois State is one of two schools in NCAA Division I basketball to rank inside of the top-30 in field goal percentage, three-point field goal percentage, and free throw percentage
• The last time an ISU squad had a better start to a season than 8-4 was 2012-13 when the team went 9-3 over the first dozen games of the season (the team also went 8-4 last season, 2016-17, and 2014-15)
• If maintained, ISU's .418 three-point field goal percentage is on pace to be the fourth-best single-season average in school history
• The Redbirds have scored at least 80 points in each of their last three games, and the last time the team has had a streak of four 80+-point games was 2004-05
• ISU out-rebounded Northern Illinois by 20 in the Redbirds' most recent game, which is the sixth-largest rebounding margin against a Division I opponent since the 2009-10 season
• Behind his 16-point effort off the bench against Cornell, freshman Jack Daugherty was named the MVC Freshman of the Week, just the second player - and third time overall - from ISU to win the award after Johnny Kinziger won the award twice a season ago
• This season the Illinois State Redbirds have had six different players lead the team in scoring through the opening 12 games of the season
• Illinois State's win against UAB on November 23 was the program's third game in a four-game stretch where the Redbird opponent was picked as the preseason favorite in their conference: Ohio (Mid-American Conference), McNeese (Southland Conference), and UAB (American Athletic Conference). In those games, the Redbirds went 2-1
• The Redbirds are one of four schools in the country to rank inside of the top-20 in the NCAA in both three-point field goals per game (11.0 - 11th) and three-point field goal percentage (.418 - 3rd)
• Ty Pence is one of six players in the country to have played at least 300 minutes with shooting percentages of .530 / .435 / .875
• Dalton Banks' three blocked shots against Saint Louis is tied for the fourth-most in the country this season in a game by a player 6-2 or shorter
• ISU's Chase Walker ranks fifth in the country in the KenPom stat Offensive Rebounding Percentage
SCOUTING UIC
The Flames come into the re-start of the MVC season riding a three-game win streak with victories over Dartmouth and on the road at Little Rock and Seattle.
In the win over the Redhawks, UIC had six players reach double-figure scoring, with a seventh just a point away from joining the group. Ahmad Henderson II scored a team-high 14 points while dishing out nine assists, with Javon Jackson (12), Modestas Kancleris (12), Sasa Ciani (11), Filip Skobalj (11), and Tyem freeman (10) all scoring in double-digits with Ethan Pickett finishing with nine.
On the season the Flames have four players averaging in double-digits, led by Jackson's 12.2 points per game, with Ciani (12.0 ppg) just behind. Henderson and Jordan Mason average 11.0 and 10.0 each, while Skobalj is just behind at 9.5 points per game. Ciani is the MVC leader in rebounding, averaging 9.9 rebounds per game, as UIC out-rebounds its opponents by an average of 8.2 boards per game.
Henderson has a narrow 40-to-38 lead in total assists over Jackson, while Jackson leads the team with 24 steals while Kanclaris has a team-best 13 blocked shots in 11 games played during the season.
SHOOTING STARS
Illinois State is one of two schools in the country to rank inside of the top-30 in field goal percentage, three-point field goal percentage and free throw percentage. The sum of ISU's three rankings is 52 (26th in FG%, 3rd in 3FG%, 23rd in FT%), and is the second-lowest sum in the country.
REBOUNDING MARGIN
Against Northern Illinois, the Redbirds had a +20 rebounding margin, which is the highest by a Redbird team against a NCAA Division I opponent since November 29, 2014 against Youngstown State. There have been just five games with a larger margin for ISU since the 2009-10 season.
FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
Adding to his strong freshman season, ISU first-year forward Jack Daugherty was named the MVC Freshman of the Week after his 16-point performance on the road at Cornell in which he made 4-of-7 of his three-point attempts, pushing his season percentage to an even .500 (29-of-58). He is the second Redbird in program history to earn the honor, as Johnny Kinziger won the award twice last season in the first-year of the Freshman of the Week award.
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PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Behind his strong performance against Saint Louis, Illinois State sophomore Chase Walker was named the MVC Player of the Week. The Columbus, Ohio, native scored a career-high 27 points against the Billikens, making 10-of-15 shots from the field, both of his three-point tries, and 5-of-7 shots from beyond the arc. He added eight rebounds – four offensive – with an assist and a blocked shot. Walker earns his first career MVC honor and is the first Redbird to be named MVC Player of the Week since Johnny Kinziger earned the honor on February 19 after ISU wins over Indiana State and Evansville.
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HIGH ON MAKES AND PERCENTAGE
This season the Redbirds rank third in the NCAA in three-point field percentage (41.8) and 11th in three-pointers per game (11.8). There are just four schools in the country who rank inside of the top-20 in each category, including in-state foes DePaul and Bradley, along with North Dakota State.
HIGH PERCENTAGESÂ
This season there have been 32 games in which a school has made over half of their field goal attempts, over half of their three-point attempts, and at least 82 percent of their tries from the free throw line. Of those 32, Illinois State has three, as they have reached those numbers against Ohio, Trinity Christian, and Belmont. Only Illinois State, Houston, and South Carolina State (twice each) have multiple appearances on the list. Since 2004-05, only two schools: William & Mary and St. Mary's (Calif.) have had a season with four such games (both did it in 2017-18). The teams with three in a season since 2004-05 include: 2023-24: Lipscomb, UNC Greensboro; 2022-23: Drake, Duke, South Dakota State, Villanova; 2021-22: Virginia; 2019-20: Air Force, UC Davis; 2017-28: Florida Gulf Coast, Mercer, South Dakota State, Weber State; 2016-17: Campbell, UCLA; 2015-16: Gonzaga; 2013-14: Utah Valley; 2011-12: Tennessee Tech; 2009-10: Minnesota, Montana, Notre Dame, Utah State; 2008-09: UCLA; 2005-06: Duke.
FIVE MAKES FROM DEEP
Since the inception of the three-point shot in college basketball (first during the 1986-87 season), there have been 16 different ISU student-athletes who have made five three-point baskets at least three times during a season. This season Jack Daugherty has moved into that list with five-make games against UT Martin, Trinity Christian, and Pacific.
ONE OF A FEW
This season, Redbird sophomore Ty Pence is one of six players in the country who have played at least 300 minutes with shooting percentages of .530 or better from the field, .435 or better from long range, and at least .875 from the charity stripe.
NEAR-CONFERENCE RECORDS
In ISU's win over Trinity Christian, the Redbirds made 20-of-40 three-point field goals, which is tied for the third-most in a game in conference history. Against Belmont, Illinois State's 18 made three-pointers are the second-most in a MVC game in conference history
OFFENSIVE REBOUNDING PERCENTAGE
Through 12 games of the season, Illinois State forward Chase Walker ranks fifth in the country in the KenPom statistical category Offensive Rebounding Percentage. The statistic is the percentage of possible offensive rebounds a player gets, and the denominator is scaled based on the percentage of a team's minutes played by the player.
STRONG NEW CLASS
With four signees, the Illinois State men's basketball recruiting class for the 2025 season was ranked 60th in the country according to the 247sports.com team ranking. ISU added forward Nick Allen, guard/forward Isaac Ericksen, and guards Tyreek Coleman and Mason Klabo. Allen, a 6-11 forward from Bradley-Bourbonnais HS, has a national 247sports ranking of 277, and is the top-rated center in the state of Illinois. He was named First Team All-State as a junior. Ericksen, a 6-9 guard/forward from Green Level HS in Cary, North Carolina, was named Second Team All-State as a junior, and is the 13th-rated prospect inside North Carolina. Coleman, a 6-2 guard from Waubonsie Valley HS, was named Third Team All-State as a junior. Klabo, a 6-1 guard from Fargo Davies HS in Fargo, North Dakota, was named First Team All-State three times heading into his senior season, as he is within grasp of the North Dakota boys basketball all-time scoring record.
PERCENTAGES ACROSS THE BOARD
Five times this season the Illinois State men's basketball team has had games where it has made over half of its field goal tries, 40 percent of the three-point attempts, and at least 75 percent from the charity stripe. No other team in school history - outside of this season's team - has had more than four such games in an entire season. The total is also the second-highest in the country this season, with only St. Thomas - who is in the middle of their reclassification to NCAA Division I - has more with six.
EXCITING GAMES
Notable basketball analytics website KenPom has a statistic called Game Excitement, which is a measure of how much the win probability changed over the course of a game (using a win probability algorithm that assumes the teams are of equal strength). This season the Redbirds appear in the list twice within the top seven games overall, with the No. 5 game coming from Illinois State's 84-83 win over UAB in the Virgin Islands, while the Redbird 99-97 overtime loss at Belmont are the seventh highest.Â
HALL OF FAMER DOUG COLLINS
On October 13, Redbird basketball legend Doug Collins was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, the highest honor for anyone associated with the game of basketball. Collins had played and worked in basketball at almost every level including being an All-American at Illinois State, an NBA top overall draft pick, an Olympian in 1972, playing for the Philadelphia 76ers, coaching the Chicago Bulls, Detroit Pistons, Philadelphia 76ers, and Washington Wizards, and an NBA and Olympic broadcaster for ABC/ESPN, CBS, NBC, TNT, and TBS. He was joined in the 2024 Hall of Fame class by 12 others including: Chauncey Billups, Vince Carter, Seimone Augustus, Bo Ryan, Michael Cooper, Walter Davis, Charles Smith, Dick Barnett, Harley Redin, Michele Timms, Jerry West, and Herb Simon.
ALL-AMERICA WATCH LIST
On Thursday, October 31, Illinois State sophomore guard Johnny Kinziger was named to the Bracketeer.org All-American watch list. Eligible conferences for the first-year award include: America East, ASUN, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, CAA, Conference USA, Horizon League, Ivy League, MAAC, MAC, MEAC, MVC, NEC, OVC, Patriot League, SoCon, Southland, SWAC, Summit League, Sun Belt, WAC. The 2025 Bracketeer.Org Non-Power Conference Player of the Year will be announced in the final week of March, 2025.Â
PRESEASON POLL
The Illinois State men's basketball team was picked to finish fourth in the preseason poll, with voters in the poll consisting of school's media, SIDs, and head coaches. Johnny Kinziger was named to the First Team, while Malachi Poindexter was picked on the second team.
CHEESE STATE OVERFLOW
This season there are five different Redbirds from the state of Wisconsin - Jack Daugherty, Dalton Banks, Jordan Davis, Johnny Kinziger, and Caden Boser, which is tied for the third-most Cheese-state basketballers for a Division I school this season. Only Milwaukee and Green Bay - who each have six student-athletes from Wisconsin - have more Wisconsin natives on their team.Â
